Breastfeeding Support

Prince Albert Public Health Lactation Services

Who we are

An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) has specialized skills in breastfeeding management and care. The letters IBCLC after a name means the person has completed the 3 to 5 year training program and exam showing they have demonstrated knowledge to:

work together with mothers to prevent and solve breastfeeding problems

collaborate with other members of the health care team to provide comprehensive care that protects, promotes and supports breastfeeding

Breastfeeding posters

SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT FOR YOU AND YOUR BABY

WHAT’S “SKIN-TO-SKIN”?

Skin-to-skin means your baby is placed belly down, directly on your chest, right after she is born. Your care provider dries her off, puts on a hat and covers her with a warm blanket and gets her settled on your chest. The first hours of snuggling skin-to-skin let you and your baby get to know each other. They also have important health benefits. If she needs to meet the pediatricians first or if you deliver by c-section, you can unwrap her and cuddle shortly after birth. Newborns crave skin-to-skin contact, but it’s sometimes overwhelming for new moms. It’s okay to start slowly as you get to know your baby.

A SMOOTH TRANSITION

Your chest is the best place for your baby to adjust to life in the outside world. Compared with babies who are swaddled or kept in a crib, skin-to-skin babies stay warmer and calmer, cry less and have better blood sugars.

BREASTFEEDING

Snuggling gives you and your baby a normal start for breastfeeding. Research studies have shown that skin-to-skin babies breastfeed better. They also keep nursing an average of six weeks longer. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all breastfeeding babies spend time skin-to-skin right after birth. Keeping your baby skin-to-skin in his first few weeks makes it easy to know when to feed him, especially if he is a little sleepy.

SKIN-TO-SKIN BEYOND THE DELIVERY ROOM

Keep cuddling skin-to-skin after you leave the hospital – your baby will stay warm and comfortable on your chest and the benefits for bonding, soothing and breastfeeding will continue well after birth. Skin-to-skin can help keep your baby interested in nursing if he’s sleepy. Dads can snuggle, too. Fathers and mothers who hold babies skin-to-skin help keep them calm and cozy.

BONDING

Skin-to-skin cuddling may affect how you relate with your baby. Researchers have watched mothers and infants in the first few days after birth and they noticed that skin-to-skin moms touch and cuddle their babies more.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH

Multiple studies over the past 30 years have shown the benefits of skin-to-skin contact. In all the studies described here, mothers were randomly assigned to hold their babies skin-to-skin or see them from a distance. For more information, see Anderson GC, GC. Moore, E. Hepworth, J. Bergman, N. Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants. [Systematic Review] Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2, 2005.